The Korea Herald

Hana, KEB join hands for overseas CSR program

May 21, 2013

Hana Bank and the Korea Exchange Bank under the Hana Financial Group are stepping up their cooperation in their overseas joint social contributions.In Indonesia, the two banks joined hands to cook and hand-deliver 500 food boxes to households in poor areas in Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia. The Indonesian offices of Hana Bank and KEB came up with the food box run, which closely resonates with “served-hot meal donations,” which has been Koreans’ signature social charity activity. In the proces
Seoul shares open higher on eased currency woes

May 21, 2013

South Korean stocks opened higher Tuesday as investors scooped up key exporters amid the eased concerns over the weak Japanese yen, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) increased 4.49 points, or 0.23 percent, to 1,986.92 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Tech blue chips led the gain, with market behemoth Samsung Electronics adding 0.07 percent and top chipmaker SK hynix climbing 0.16 percent. Samsung Techwin, a defense and precision machinery firm, added 0.76 pe
[Graphic News] Korea’s shift toward service industries stalls

May 20, 2013

South Korea’s service industries, such as culture, entertainment, social welfare, health care, education and finance, have failed to grow in importance over the past few years.According to research analysts in the stock investment sector, service-based industries are classified as related to the “creative economy,” a key policy area for President Park Geun-hye.Data held by the analysts showed that Korea saw the proportion of national gross domestic product accounted for by these industries stay
U.S. dollar overtakes yen as top Korea-Japan trade settlement currency

May 20, 2013

An increasing number of both Korean and Japanese companies are opting to settle their bilateral trade with the world’s key currency ― the U.S. dollar ― over the Japanese yen.This is due to Japan’s weakening currency since the world’s third largest economy launched fiscal stimulus along with aggressive monetary easing to recover from its two-decade-long stagnant growth.A weaker yen would result in foreign exchange losses for those companies trading goods between the two sides as currency deprecat
Seoul shares down 0.22 pct on weak yen

May 20, 2013

South Korean stocks closed 0.22 percent lower Monday as the weak yen continued to weigh down on investors' sentiment here, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) moved down 4.38 points to finish at 1,982.43. Trading volume was low at 266.3 million shares worth 4.22 trillion won (US$3.78 billion) with losers outstripping gainers 434 to 383. "While Wall Street gathered ground in the previous trading session on imp
Seoul shares up 0.13 pct in late-morning trade

May 20, 2013

South Korean stocks traded 0.13 percent higher late Monday morning, led by gains in carmakers and construction companies, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 2.51 points to 1,989.32 as of 11:20 a.m. Carmakers led the market gain, with No. 1 player Hyundai Motor rising 1.02 percent and its smaller affiliate Kia Motors adding 0.73 percent. Top auto parts maker Hyundai Mobis also climbed 1.29 percent. Builders also traded higher, with industry leader H
Seoul shares open higher on U.S. gains

May 20, 2013

South Korean stocks opened higher Monday, taking a cue from overnight gains on Wall Street, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) edged up 1.36 points, or 0.07 percent, to 1,988.17 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Shares gathered ground across the board, with No. 1 carmaker Hyundai Motor rising 0.26 percent and top steelmaker POSCO adding 0.93 percent. Leading mobile carrier SK Telecom added 2.13 percent.U.S. stocks ended higher on Friday on the country's improv
Japan to outperform Korea in GDP growth

May 19, 2013

Seoul is expected to lag behind Tokyo for first time in 15 years
INCARINSU aims for W400b in sales

May 19, 2013

INCARINSU, the nation’s top insurance brokerage company, said it was aiming to sell 400 billion won ($350 million) in insurance products for this year.“We will raise the goal to 600 billion won next year, and we will do our best to ensure transparency and corporate ethics throughout our 2 trillion won goal for 2020,” company CEO Choi Byung-chae said. The insurer currently has some 950 branches and about 4,000 sales dealers nationwide. INCARINSU has won awards for job creation, and recently recru
Hyundai Motor joins U.S. fuel-cell vehicle project

May 19, 2013

South Korea’s top automaker Hyundai Motor Co. has been named a partner in a U.S. project to develop next-generation fuel-cell electric vehicles, the company said Saturday.Hyundai Motor is one of only four foreign automakers that has been named a partner for the so-called H2 USA project, it said. The others are Germany’s Mercedes-Benz and Japan’s Toyota Motor Corp. and Nissan Motor Co.The U.S. project seeks to develop new, efficient fuel-cell batteries, along with the necessary infrastructure to
Seoul, Moscow reach deal on fishing quota for 2013

May 19, 2013

SEJONG (Yonhap News) ― South Korea and Russia have struck a deal on the 2013 quota for Korean fishing boats operating in Russian waters, the Fisheries Ministry said Friday. During the negotiation held in Moscow from Tuesday to Thursday, the two countries agreed to set South Korea’s fishing quota for pollack for this year at 20,500 tons, which is half of last year’s allotment, the ministry said. However, if South Korea’s bill to prevent illegally-caught Russian crabs from reaching the country via
Samsung’s quarterly investment hits 3-year low

May 19, 2013

Samsung Electronics Co.’s investment sank to a three-year low in the first quarter of this year as the global tech giant sharply reduced its spending on new plants and equipment amid lingering global economic uncertainties, company data showed Sunday.Samsung, the world’s top maker of smartphones, spent a total of 7.29 trillion won ($6.52 billion) in capital expenditures and spending on research and development in the January-March period, the lowest quarterly figure since 2010, according to the
Shares likely to move upward this week

May 19, 2013

South Korean stocks are expected to rise this week on economic stimulus efforts by governments, analysts here said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index closed at 1,986.81 this week, up 2.16 percent from 1,944.75 a week earlier.The KOSPI moved in a tight range earlier this week as the Japanese currency continued to drop to over 100 yen against the U.S. dollar, but later advanced on hopes for strong economic stimulus efforts by governments and a belief that effects of the weakening Japa
Yen’s fall against Korean won in May biggest since 2000

May 19, 2013

The Japanese yen has declined by the most against the Korean currency this month in three years, adding to fear it will hurt the export-oriented local economy down the road, data showed Sunday. In the month to May 13, the local currency exchanged hands at 1,103.20 won per 100 yen, appreciating 24 percent from an average of 1,451.49 won a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Bank of Korea and local brokerage houses. That marks the biggest fall in the Japanese currency to the won si
Korea’s corporate debt to hit $2tr by 2017: S&P

May 19, 2013

Korea’s corporate debt is expected to reach $2 trillion by 2017 as non-financial firms increasingly issue debt and take out loans to service their obligations, a report by Standard & Poor’s said Sunday. This would lead debt to account for 122 percent of the country’s gross domestic product, or to the level seen in 2009, raising concern over Korea’s business fundamentals.S&P noted that it is generally dangerous for the corporate debt-GDP ratio to surpass 90 percent.Non-financial firms’ debt amoun